Sunday Times 4754 by Jeff Pearce

Author   keriothePosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
9:36. Pretty straightforward stuff, this, but I enjoyed it a lot. I can’t entirely put my finger on why but it just flowed very nicely. There’s very little by way of obscurity, although I didn’t know the bird that shares its name with a card game. COD to 17dn: I’m a sucker for an &Lit and this is a good ‘un.

I don’t have much more to say this week, so thanks very much to Jeff and without further ado, here’s how I think it all works.

Across
1 You can use this to order a large black tie
FORMAL – FORM (as in order form), A, L.
4 At back of reception English doctor enters extra date
NOVEMBER – receptioN, OV(E, MB)ER
10 Stokes gets run out — something to be wary of at the Gabba?
SUNSTROKE – (STOKES, RUN)*. The Gabba being of course the famous cricket ground in Brisbane. I’ve never been but I’ve no doubt SUNSTROKE is a potential hazard.
11 Frozen European in German hat
GELID – G(E), LID. The condition of tiny hands and singing Disney princesses.
12 Bad language results if son’s this tiresome
WEARING – because if you add S (son) it becomes SWEARING.
14 Cases in sessions heard at first with unexpected haste
SHEATHS – Sessions, Heard, (HASTE)*.
15 Those working in futures market giving a lot of money to bank staff
FORTUNE TELLERS – FORTUNE (a lot of money), TELLERS (bank staff). Very neat.
18 Is one’s work on the way to being noticed?
PAVEMENT ARTIST – CD. This clue has a rather old-fashioned feel, like something from the 70s. Nothing wrong with that, of course.
22 Head to front of platform — one with a sea view
MAINTOP – MAIN (head), TO, Platform. A ‘platform on the top of the lower mainmast’.
24 Brown vest finally has funny fit
TANTRUM – TAN, vesT, RUM.
25 Champion jockey caught leaving crime
ARSON – cARSON: Willie of that ilk.
26 Patience, an American singer
SOLITAIRE – DD. I didn’t have a clue about the second definition when solving, but apparently this is also the name of an ‘American or West Indian fly-catching thrush’. I assume that’s what’s intended.
28 Do harps ruin an unknown piece of music?
RHAPSODY – (DO HARPS)*, Y. We seem to be getting a lot of rhapsodies of late.
29 Cut off rear part of the stern
SEVERE – SEVER, thE.

Down
1 She’s a bit vulgar but she’s brill at work!
FISHWIFE – two definitions, one mildly cryptic.
2 Ladder and its short part
RUN – RUNg.
3 Quality attire but displayed badly
ATTRIBUTE – (ATTIRE BUT)*.
5 Inspect some balls at Exeter?
OVERSEE – OVER (some balls), SEE (as in Bishopric). Did anyone else wonder how EE equated to ‘Exeter’?
6 It’s usually two or three shots to shoot this bird
EAGLE – in golf you would score one of these with two or three shots on a par four or five, respectively. In other contexts shooting an EAGLE is very much frowned upon however many shots it takes.
7 Dog, we hear, you left in terrible mess at back of car
BULL TERRIER – U (we hear, you), L (left) contained in (TERRIBLE)*, caR.
8 Topless Victorian is mildly pornographic
RUDISH – pRUDISH.
9 80 per cent of Pacific island use odd language
TONGUE – TONGa, then the odd letters in UsE.
13 Raise aid and act to distribute water
ADRIATIC SEA – (RAISE AID, ACT)*.
16 Device helping to read endless correspondence about article from paper
LORGNETTE – L(ORGaN)ETTEr.
17 Move at speed with hint of madness?
STAMPEDE – (AT SPEED, Madness)*. &Lit.
19 Showed up old partner and daughter embracing model
EXPOSED – EX(POSE), D.
20 Start to tape old PM’s endless gossip
TATTLE – Tape, ATTLEe. I don’t remember seeing this without its associated TITTLE before.
21 Damage caused by couple on motorway when upset
IMPAIR – reversal of MI, PAIR.
23 City finally built some educational establishments
TUNIS – builT, UNIS.
27 Emotion that’s right to the core
IRE – IE (that’s) with R (right) ‘to the core’.

15 comments on “Sunday Times 4754 by Jeff Pearce”

  1. I enjoyed this one, too. I biffed 7d and 16d, parsing post hoc. And I put in 10ac from wordplay (not definition, so I suppose not biffing), having not the slightest idea who Stokes was, if he was, or what a Gabba is when it’s at home. Also never heard of Carson the jockey, or SOLITAIRE the bird; given that SOLITAIRE is the US word for patience, it was nice that the bird is also American. I’ll go along with K and make 17d my COD.
  2. What Kevin said about 10ac and SOLITAIRE. 33 minutes. Btw, setter, NOVEMBER is not a date, it’s a month consisting of 30 days or dates.
  3. …made a mess of the NE, with BLUE TERRIER and GLUED. Ah, I thought, so a glud is a German hat, must remember that one. Sad thing is I probably will.

    Not too bad otherwise, COD to 10ac obviously. In my experience the WACA’s worse than the Gabba for sunstroke. The main danger at the Gabba seems to be beerstroke.

    Thanks JP and K.

    1. Just sing to yourself: Glud, a hat, a German hat, / Blue, a funny-looking dog, …
    2. This must be something to do with the peculiar microclimate of cricket grounds, because I have suffered beerstroke at Lord’s and the Oval.

      Edited at 2017-07-16 08:11 am (UTC)

  4. …a term of disapprobation used in the Fylde. I’m not sure if that’s as compared with the saintly lasses of Blackpool a few miles south. I made steady progress on this, watching cricket at the same time, from Lords not the Gabba but with Stokes playing. The viewing from Trent Bridge today could be more awkward but with little danger of SUNSTROKE. I took about 40 minutes with MAINTOP LOI. I’m not a racing man but Willie Carson is well remembered for A Question of Sport in the days when I knew some of the answers. An enjoyable puzzle. I’m giving COD to PAVEMENT ARTIST. Thank you K and setter.
  5. I had most of this done in well under half an hour but my LOI 26ac pushed me to 36mins. I did not know the bird but still a bit frustrating that in an otherwise straightforward puzzle I spent so long focusing on the quality before thinking of the game whereupon I immediately got the answer. FOI 4ac. COD 15ac.
  6. Agree with above, query November = date? The rest good but easy, 15 minutes. Thanks for the blog.
  7. I survived 10a by biffing, but sadly made a mess of 16d. Never heard of a LORGNETTE, and couldn’t quite come up with the wordplay. I eventually bunged in LIRANETTE, with a vague hope that “i” was the paper, “an” was the article and that I’d just missed where the “r” came from. It seemed vaguely plausible given that the word looked French and “lire” is French for “read”…

    So, yet another fall at the last hurdle, this one in 50m. Bother.

  8. Thanks to setter for an enjoyable and medium difficulty puzzle.COD TONGUE.
    ONG’ARA,
    KENYA.
  9. Managed to finish this eventually with unknown Maintop going in hopefully.
    Also guessed Gelid -it looked possible.
    I too wondered about November = Date; nothing else seemed likely. Solitaire also a guess.
    Despite being a regular golfer, it took me a while to get Eagle; I never seem to twig the golf clues.
    Very enjoyable puzzle. David

  10. Guessed Maintop and Gelid, but the rest went in fine. Some nice stuff, I thought – particularly enjoyed the Fishwife, the Fortune Tellers and the Pavement Artist.

    Thanks Keriothe and Jeff.

  11. Done with few problems, though held up by galspray’s dog. However I was defeated by 1ac, as ‘black’ seemed to give a B which wouldn’t fit with any of the meanings of ‘tie’: eventually bunged in FORMAT as being something to do with ‘order’. (What’s the opposite of “lift and separate”?) Yes, I did know the meaning of the phrase, but instinctively shied away – that means that I wouldn’t even think of attending such an event as it would be too posh and boring.
  12. Whilst I knew lorgnette I don’t understand what paper has to do with organ.The SCG also tends to be a catalyst for beerstroke!

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